Child Safety Seat With Shock Absorber Having Compression-Type Soft Material Resillient Member

Abstract

A child safety seat utilizes a compression-type resilient shock absorber in which a soft-material resilient member serves to dampen shocks applied to the seat's harness assembly by undergoing compressive deformation in a way that prevents the harness safety belts from experiencing a “hard stop”. The resilient member (e.g., a foam rubber block, a gel-like substance, or a fluid-filled bladder) is disposed such that one portion is held against a rigid support (e.g., the backside surface of the seat's shell), and a second portion is operably wrapped by a loop portion of a safety belt. The resilient shock absorber is wrapped by the safety belt such that tension applied to the safety belt pulls the two end portions of the resilient member toward each other and against the rigid support, thereby causing the resilient member to compressively deform against the rigid support.

1 . A child safety seat comprising:
 a seat shell having a frontside surface facing a seating area of said child safety seat and an opposing backside surface;   a safety harness assembly including a safety belt having a first belt portion disposed in said seating area and a second belt portion outside of said seating area; and   a resilient shock absorber including a soft-material resilient member having opposing first and second end portions, the first end portion contacting a rigid surface and a second end portion facing away from the rigid surface   wherein the second belt portion is looped around the soft-material resilient member such that a sudden tensile force applied to the first belt portion of the safety belt pulls the second belt portion against the second end portion of the soft-material resilient member, thereby pressing the soft-material resilient member against the rigid surface and causing compressive deformation of the resilient member from an initial state to a deformed state, whereby the tensile force is at least partially converted to potential energy stored in the soft-material resilient member.   
     
     
         2 . The child safety seat of  claim 1 , wherein the second belt portion includes a first belt section extending from the first belt portion to resilient shock absorber, and a second belt section extending from the first belt section across second end portion of the soft-material resilient member to a distal belt portion. 
     
     
         3 . The child safety seat of  claim 1 , wherein the resilient member has a resting thickness measured between said opposing first and second end portions, and wherein movement of the first end portion of the resilient member is prevented by said the rigid surface such that a maximum possible displacement of said one or more safety belts in response to said sudden tensile force is limited by said resting thickness. 
     
     
         4 . The child safety seat of  claim 1 , wherein a peripheral surface of the resilient member defines a resting volume, and wherein said compressive deformation of the resilient member comprises deforming said peripheral surface such that the resilient member temporarily assumes a second volume that is smaller than said resting volume. 
     
     
         5 . The child safety seat of  claim 1 , wherein the resilient member comprises one of a gel material, a fluid filled bladder, and a block of resilient material. 
     
     
         6 . The child safety seat of  claim 1 , wherein the resilient shock absorber further comprises a rigid plate disposed against the second end portion the resilient member, and wherein the second belt portion is slidably disposed against the rigid plate such that, during said compressive deformation of said resilient member, the rigid plate applies substantially uniform pressure to said resilient member. 
     
     
         7 . The child safety seat of  claim 6 , wherein the second belt portion includes a first belt section extending from the first belt portion toward the resilient member, and a second belt section extending from the first belt section across a surface of the rigid plate to a distal belt portion of said safety belt. 
     
     
         8 . The child safety seat of  claim 7 , wherein the distal belt portion of said safety belt comprises a free end of the safety belt that is secured to the rigid surface. 
     
     
         9 . The child safety seat of  claim 7 , wherein the distal belt portion of said safety belt comprises a portion of the safety belt that passes at least once through the rigid surface. 
     
     
         10 . The child safety seat of  claim 1 , wherein the resilient shock absorber further comprises a housing attached to said seat shell, and wherein said resilient member is disposed inside of said housing. 
     
     
         11 . The child safety seat of  claim 10 , wherein the housing is disposed between the frontside surface of said seat shell and a flexible seat cover disposed over the frontside surface of the seat shell. 
     
     
         12 . The child safety seat of  claim 10 , wherein the housing is disposed in the backside region and said at least one safety belt extends from the resilient shock absorber through a slot defined in the seat shell. 
     
     
         13 . The child safety seat of  claim 1 , wherein the seat shell includes one or more flanges defining a containment area, and wherein the resilient member is disposed in the containment area. 
     
     
         14 . The child safety seat of  claim 13 ,
 wherein the resilient shock absorber further comprises a rigid plate member disposed against the second end portion the resilient member and disposed in the containment area, and   wherein the second belt portion is disposed against the rigid plate such that, during said compressive deformation of said resilient member, the rigid plate applies substantially uniform pressure to said resilient member.   
     
     
         15 . The child safety seat of  claim 14 , wherein the safety belt includes a first belt section extending from the first belt portion toward the resilient member, and a second belt section extending from the first belt section through a portion of the flange across a surface of the rigid plate, and a third belt portion extending from the second belt portion to a distal belt portion of said safety belt. 
     
     
         16 . The child safety seat of  claim 15 , wherein the distal belt portion of said safety belt is secured to the first belt section, thereby forming a web.